John Elway and the 20 Worst Jock Money Flushes of All Time

The Denver Post recently reported that legendary quarterback John Elway was recently the victim of a Ponzi scheme that lost the former Bronco $15 million.

Allegedly, Elway and his business manager Mitchell Pierce invested the millions with hedge fund manager Sean Mueller back in March. An ensuing investigation revealed that Mueller had collected $71 million in investments from 65 different people, yet only had $9.5 million in assets.

Elway is not the first athlete to lose millions through bad investments, as every year we hear stories about crooked accountants, thieving agents and a slew of poor investments.

With that in mind, we examine the 20 worst jock money flushes of all time.

17. Tiger Woods

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Even in a tough 2010, Tiger Woods has reportedly earned $105 million, so how could he possibly be guilty of one of the worst money flushes in all time?

With his divorce from wife Elin set in stone, Woods could stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Looks like those 14 counts of infidelity could end up costing the golfing great more than he could have ever imagined.

16. Rocket Ismail

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Possibly the fastest player to ever touch an NFL field, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail never lived up to the high expectations many had when he was drafted out of Notre Dame. Good thing about the NFL—even busts get paid.

Ismail made nearly $20 million but lost it all due to a series of poor investments. The Rocket put his money into odd business ventures, including kiosks that write proverbs in calligraphy and phone card dispensers.

These bad investments never led Ismail to bankruptcy, but they certainly put a massive dent in his nest egg.

12. Darren McCarty

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Detroit Red Wing great made the mistake of teaming up with a very sketchy business partner and lost a lot of money in the process.

McCarty owned a 20 percent stake in a real estate company that his business partner used as a personal piggy bank. After taking out a $3 million loan in McCarty’s name, his partner forged D-Mac’s signature for a $650,000 check.

McCarty also lost much of his money to a substance abuse problem, but he has righted the ship and now works as an NHL analyst for Versus.

5. Fred Taylor

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The former Florida Gator and current Patriot may not have surrounded himself with the best people. In 2001, it came out that Taylor’s agent, William Black, had stolen almost all of Taylor’s $5 million signing bonus.

While Taylor was not the only player that Black victimized, he was certainly hit the hardest. In fact, the incident was so painful for Taylor that he considered retiring after only three seasons in the league.

3. Travis Henry

If only Travis Henry had invested in a vasectomy, he might still have his vast fortunes.

After making over $20 million in his career, Henry finds himself amongst the penniless former athletes.

The former Bronco running back has nine kids...from nine different women. Henry is currently in jail for a cocaine trafficking offense and was once jailed for when he was unable to pay the $3,000 per month child support payments.

2. Latrell Sprewell

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Back in 2004, Sprewell drew the ire of fans everywhere when he turned down a lucrative three-year, $21 million deal, saying, “I got my family to feed.”

The next year, when Sprewell was solely being offered the league minimum, his agent said Sprewell wouldn’t even accept the mid-level exception, as the $5 million threshold was “a level beneath which [Sprewell] would not stoop or kneel."

I wonder what Sprewell would be willing to stoop to in order to pay his family now.

The ill-tempered Sprewell was sued for $200 million by his longtime girlfriend, and more recently the former Knicks and Timberwolves player was forced to sell his home and yacht.